Kia ora koutou katoa

Many of you have told me directly, or through your representatives, that it feels like there is a lot of change going on.

I know that there is always change at school and kāhui ako level as teachers and others work to strengthen professional practice and pedagogy. This is a strength of our system; self-evaluation and ongoing improvement. Thank you.

In the past couple of years the Ministry has been leading the Education Work Programme and that will have felt like even more change. So far there has been a lot of discussion and policy formulation and we will be working with you to implement key aspects of the work programme, over time, and with regard to the busy environment we all work in. Each part of the work programme is important in its own right, but it is also a connected whole and to help describe this we developed the Education Work Programme wheel diagram. I find this a useful tool for keeping an eye on the big picture and also seeing where individual parts of the work are up to.

My thanks to all of you for the work that you do to support effective teaching and learning for your school community and a particular thanks to those of you who have contributed to the long-term system-wide change that the Education Work Programme is defining.

Please enjoy a safe, restful and well-deserved break with friends and whānau this holiday season.

Nāku noa, nā

Iona Holsted

Secretary for Education